ANAHEIM, Calif. - They say it is better to be lucky than good. For Steve Thomas, it is better to be good and than lucky ... especially in overtime.
"I get the feeling I can make a difference," Thomas said. "I don't know what it is. I just feel it inside that I want to be that guy. There is some luck involved, but having that feeling that you can make a difference out there is half the battle."
Thomas won the battle Monday with a goal 39 seconds into overtime that gave Anaheim a 1-0 victory in Game 4 at Arrowhead Pond and tied the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Game 5 is Thursday at Continental Airlines Arena.
No one was surprised Thomas was in the right place at the right time. His 13 regular-season overtime goals are an NHL record.
"He's superior," Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. "He's a greasy, greasy guy. He's in your face. He's on the puck. He's tenacious."
The Ducks acquired Thomas, 39, from the Blackhawks at the trade deadline for a fifth-round draft choice. The right wing is in his 19th season and his first final. The goal was his first of the series.
Thomas scored just under the glove of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, who made a terrific stop on Sammy Pahlsson but kicked the puck directly to Thomas, who was patrolling near the high slot.
"Brodeur made a great save," Devils coach Pat Burns said. "We all watch the puck and we forget about Steve Thomas sneaking up from behind."
"Euphoria," Thomas said. "There's no better feeling than winning a hockey game for your team."
LEADERSHIP ROLE: Is it a coincidence the Ducks went on a roll after goalie Jean Sebastian Giguere called out his teammates after losing the first two games in New Jersey? Babcock said no.
"If somebody doesn't make a stand, the series is over and you wonder what could have happened," the coach said. "When you do that, you put a ton of pressure on yourself. You have to be able to answer the bell."
He has. Giguere has stopped 55 of 57 shots the past two games for a .965 save percentage. He is 7-0 in overtime and has a league-record overtime shutout streak of 168 minutes, 27 seconds. He also has five playoff shutouts.
"Nothing I said wasn't the truth," said Giguere, who thought the Ducks weren't playing with emotion. "We needed to go out there and play our game. It's been like that the last two games. There is a hell of a lot of difference on the ice."
As for his overtime expertise, he said, "In overtime, we feel good going in. You don't have time to think. You've got to go out there and play. We're not scared to lose. We go out there to win."
THE FLIP SIDE: While Giguere has been a rock in overtime, Brodeur is 8-18 all-time in the playoffs.
"I don't know," Brodeur said. "It's just the way it happens. Some of us are really lucky in overtime, some of us are not. You can't control your destiny too much. You just go out there and try to stop the puck."
MAKING HIM WORK: Burns said Giguere was not really tested in Game 4.
"We've got to make him work," Burns said. "We didn't seem excited about getting things done there."
Left wing Patrik Elias said New Jersey has to get its shots higher on the goalie, who plays a crouching butterfly style. Burns scoffed.
"We have to get down in there end work a little more in their end," he said. "It's not so much selecting the shots, you have to get them before you can shoot them."
NEW ADDITIONS: Burns said center Joe Nieuwendyk (hip/groin) and right wing Turner Stevenson (groin) skated Tuesday for the first time since the series began. The coach is optimistic they will play Thursday.
Nieuwendyk, New Jersey's best faceoff man, would be particularly welcome. The Devils have lost 167 of 274 draws.
